FREE eBOOK

Astrophotography

Download Your Free Astrophotography Primer Now from Sky & Telescope!

*

This Week’s Sky At a Glance

Check out Sky & Telescope’s weekly observing update, Sky at a Glance, published every Friday. Not only do we provide simple sky maps and observing tips for the upcoming week, we also keep you up to date on the latest celestial events.

A winter article might focus on the dazzling Orion Nebula, where thousands of stars are forming in the cloud of gas and dust, only 1,300 light-years away. A spring article could guide you through the small patch of sky in the constellations Cygnus, Lyra, and Draco where the Kepler Space Telescope has found more than 1,000 exoplanets. And a summer article might be bombarded with meteors from the stunning Perseids, which grace us with their presence every August, while a fall article might highlight the lucky alignment of two planets in the evening sky.

No matter the week, take a look at Sky at a Glance to catch up on celestial current events.

Some daily sky sights among the ever-changing Moon, planets, and stars. Friday, December 19 Have you ever tried to catch Sirius actually rising? If you can find a good view down to the east-southeast horizon, watch for Sirius emerging about two fists at arm's length below Orion's Belt. It now rises sometime around 7:30...

Some daily sky sights among the ever-changing Moon, planets, and stars. Friday, December 12 This is the time of year when, around 8 or 9 p.m., Cassiopeia stands very high in the north as a flattened letter M. When will you see it perfectly level? This mostly depends on how far east or west...

Some daily sky sights among the ever-changing Moon, planets, and stars. Friday, December 5 The Moon is essentially full this evening and Saturday evening both (it's exactly full at 7:27 a.m. Saturday morning EST.) On Friday evening in the Americas, look for Aldebaran less than about 2° from the Moon. Watch the Moon shift...

Some daily sky sights among the ever-changing Moon, planets, and stars. Friday, November 28 First-quarter Moon (exactly first-quarter at 5:06 a.m. Saturday morning EST). Look this evening for Fomalhaut far to the Moon's lower left, and for Enif, the nose of Pegasus, almost as far to the Moon's upper right. Saturday, November 29 The...

Some daily sky sights among the ever-changing Moon, planets, and stars. Friday, November 14 Keep an eye on little Mars in the southwest at dusk. It will keep hanging in there month after month through this winter, as constellations of the zodiac slide behind it. Last-quarter Moon (exact at 10:16 a.m. EST). The Moon...

Some daily sky sights among the ever-changing stars and planets. Friday, November 7 The Moon, just past full, rises in the east at dusk. Once it climbs high, look for orange Aldebaran to its lower left and the Pleiades to its upper left. Catch Mercury in Saturday's dawn, as shown here. Saturday, November 8...

Some daily sky sights among the ever-changing stars and planets The monster sunspot continues in view; see "This Week's Planet Roundup" below. Friday, October 24 As the stars come out, Deneb is nearly straight overhead for skywatchers at mid-northern latitudes. Brighter Vega is west of the zenith. Altair is farther from the zenith toward...

Some daily sky sights among the ever-changing stars and planets Monster sunspot alert — see "This Week's Planet Roundup" below. Friday, October 17 Before dawn Saturday morning, Jupiter shines above the waning Moon, as shown at right. Although they look rather close together, Jupiter is 2,100 times farther in the background — it's at...

Some daily celestial sights among the ever-changing stars and planets Friday, October 3 As evening twilight fades away, look very far to the lower left of the Moon for Fomalhaut, the Autumn Star, already climbing up from the southeast horizon. Saturday, October 4 The W pattern of Cassiopeia stands vertically (on its dimmer end)...

Arcturus is the bright star fairly high due west at nightfall. It's an orange giant 37 light-years away. Off to its right in the northwest is the Big Dipper, most of whose stars are about 80 light-years away.

Post navigation

Featured Product from Shop@Sky!

Plan for clear skies with our 2015 observing calendar! Each month features stunning astrophotography and sky scenes that illustrate the positions of the Moon and bright planets. Plus, keep track of important celestial events, such as eclipses, meteor showers, and conjunctions.